SUV's driver critical after swerving to avoid golf cart on highway

A Montegut motorist swerved to avoid rear-ending a golf cart on a dark stretch of Bourg highway Sunday morning and hit a tree instead, State Police said.

Dee Dee ThurstonManaging Editor

A Montegut motorist swerved to avoid rear-ending a golf cart on a dark stretch of Bourg highway Sunday morning and hit a tree instead, State Police said.Driver Cleveland "Chris" Towns, 63, was in University Hospital in New Orleans this morning in "extremely critical" condition, according to his new bride, Laura Browning.The driver of the golf cart, 18-year-old Katelyn Marie Duplantis of Chauvin, a senior at South Terrebonne High, is charged with first-degree negligent injuring and driving an improperly equipped vehicle on the highway, police said. Police said she had been drinking prior to the crash.She and an 18-year-old boy were riding an E-Z-Go golf cart north on La. 24 about 2:20 a.m. Sunday near Louis Mohana Furniture in Bourg when Towns, behind the wheel of a 2003 Oldsmobile Bravada, came up from behind, State Police Troop C spokesman Evan Harrell said.Towns swerved left to avoid the golf cart and hit a roadside oak tree, and a branch "impacted" the SUV's roof and windshield, Harrell said.Towns, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, sustained head injuries, according to his wife, and remained unresponsive this morning.Browning, who said the pair wed two weeks ago, said Towns suffered a brain-stem injury, and it is unlikely he will recover.Towns was the only one hurt. His passenger, 24-year-old Stacy Porche, was wearing a seat belt and was not injured, Harrell said.Asked about Towns' destination at that early hour, Browning said she wasn't sure but speculated he might have been going to get a Sunday paper after stargazing."He gets up and watches the sky," she said. "There was supposed to be a meteor shower."Browning said she didn't know anything about a passenger in Towns' SUV and doesn't know Porche.Duplantis is free on a $50,000 bond. Impaired driving is one of the factors spelled out in the first-degree negligent injuring law, which carries a penalty of up to five years behind bars upon conviction, police said.An alcohol breath test showed she had a level higher than .02 percent — the limit allowed for those younger than 21, Harrell said. The limit for adults 21 and older is .08 percent.Browning alleged that the teen had been drinking at a nearby party and that neighbors had called the Terrebonne Sheriff's Office prior to the crash complaining about the noise.Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said a check of Sheriff's Office records showed no complaints for noise or underage drinking at the address in question.

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